Starship Earth: The Big Picture

My whining about the lack of rain and non-existent monsoon season may have worked.

Or maybe it was Tom Cochrane’s wailing about being White Hot and, “I need rain, I need rain, I need rain!” bouncing off the pool, but on Saturday night, I watched a cell come up from the south end of the mountain which so often deflects storms, and it was a sight to behold. I could see the white deluge falling in the distance and willed it our way.

At 6:00 the wind picked up, lightning flashed, thunder intensified and the skies opened. Paying the thunder no mind, Mica focused on the big bubbles in the pool from the huge raindrops and the noise the rain made as it increased in tempo.

It was a slow-moving system and wrapped in towels we participated as much as we felt safe doing in an electrical storm from under the patio in our wet swimsuits, not minding the spray as the wind blew the streams from the scuppers under the roof. It was an event!

A sodden Mica galloped around the patio enjoying the streams of water everywhere and the frothy puddles under the scuppers, thrusting his nose in them as though they hid a treasure under the waves. It was over all too soon, but we got a decent dump for which we’re very grateful.

We had a series of smaller storms on Monday night but we only got the fringes and very little rain as they followed a trajectory West. On Tuesday morning we heard Phoenix had a major cleanup of downed power poles and trees. Sorry about that, Chief. I guess my coordinates were a little off.

As for the A/C issue, it was just too hot not to get it replaced. The crew arrived at 7:30 Wednesday morning and by 8:45 they were done.

The old POS was taken away and the new 5 ton unit installed. I found it amusing that the crane truck’s front wheels were off the ground.

I didn’t see them actually hoist the units onto or off the roof because the neighbour across the street phoned to say he felt badly for us after all we’ve been through. He related a story about an A/C unit installed in a high rise near him when they told everyone to stay inside until they were finished.

They had to bring in a big military helicopter to handle the payload. I don’t even want to think about the dirt a chopper would have blown all over the place in our yard.

To my delight, the bonus to our new air conditioner was a programmable digital thermostat. We missed the one we had at our last house and considered buying one but the unit came with. Another divine manifestation.

As we had hoped, they mounted the machine on a redwood platform so it was 6″ off the roof and it’s SO QUIET!!!!!

They installed and tested the thermostat for heat and cold and in no time it was very comfortable in the house for the first time in several days.

But what’s this?! Welcome to my nightmare. Life just went from the sublime to the ridiculous.

The technician had just finished with the thermostat and I entered the kitchen to see a puddle of water inching across the floor, emanating from the water cooler. I kid you not.

Who writes this stuff? Who scripted my life? A sadist, apparently. No one is going to believe this.

All I could do was laugh at the absurdity. When my husband arrived on the scene I held up a towel and told him not to look.

We can’t figure out where the leak is, but there was ice in the reservoir and that’s not a good sign. My next project is…

…sourcing water coolers! Woo-hoo!

At least we got some rain—months late—and a quiet air conditioner to handle our 100+ degree days.

The heat and humidity are creating stunning clouds and sunsets and there are relatively high chances of precipitation in the forecast. In fact—this morning’s azure skies have suddenly turned to grey even now! Fingers crossed.

You can’t keep us Canucks down and there’s only one way to go from here. UP!  ~ BP